1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to systems and methods for evaluating and implementing video quality. In particular, the present invention is related to a method and apparatus to speed the video system optimization using genetic algorithms and memory storage.
2. Description of the Related Art
The use of genetic algorithms to evaluate video quality, which may or may not be part of a feedback system in which video quality is enhanced, has been proposed by the present inventor in U.S. application Ser. No. 09/817,981 entitled “A General Scheme for Diffusing Different Implementations of a Number of Video Algorithms in an Optimum Way for Best Objective Video Quality” (filed Mar. 27, 2001), and U.S. application Ser. No. 09/734,823 entitled “A Scalable Dynamic Metric For Automatic Evaluation of Video Quality” (filed Dec. 12, 2000), the contents of both applications are hereby incorporated by reference.
In these aforementioned applications, the primary goal of improving video quality evaluation includes providing a series of objective quality video modules, each module comprising a particular type of algorithm capable of providing objective video quality assessment.
In the prior art, video systems consist of a large number of video functions (for example, sharpness enhancement, noise reduction, color correction . . . etc.). As each of these video functions may require a number of control parameters, the combination of implementations for each of the functions is potentially vast, and the order of application can be unclear. Moreover, the total possible configurations can be excessively large, with each configuration resulting in a particular image quality that is in some way different from all the other combinations.
The previously cited patent applications, while offering novel and nonobvious ways to evaluate quality, are nonetheless hindered in the time required to process and evaluate the combinations. In other words, the execution time of genetic algorithms can be excessive, particularly if the image is a live broadcast, or there are a series of rapidly changing scenes that would require evaluation.